Poverty

It was 50 years ago Wednesday that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed a war on poverty in his 1964 State of the Union Address. After five decades of programs like Medicare and Medicaid, while poverty hasn’t ended, the programs launched as part of the Great Society has helped hundreds of millions of people improve their lives.

The gridlock in Washington began taking a major toll at the dinner table for tens of millions of Americans Friday. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits fell for more than 47 million lower-income people Friday.

The Great Recession, according to economists, technically ended a few years ago. But, based on jobless numbers and poverty, South Florida has a long way to go to ever recover from the economic downturn that devastated the nation.

After being on the road for roughly six months, a Washington man concluded his cross-country fundraiser in Key Biscayne Saturday evening. He traveled on foot from Washington state to South Florida in order to raise money for his Perspiration for Education project.

Mitt Romney, if you want to talk about mooches and freeloaders that take advantage of the system then grow a spine and show America your tax returns. Let’s see what you really pay as a percentage. Let’s see what deductions you take. Let’s see how addicted to federal benefits you are.

Florida’s children are not as educated or as healthy compared to other states’ children, according to a report released Wednesday. The report also points out that Florida ranks especially low in economic well-being.